The following relates generally to forming a storage component and more specifically to a tapered cell profile and fabrication.
Memory devices are widely used to store information in various electronic devices such as computers, wireless communication devices, cameras, digital displays, and the like. Information is stored by programming different states of a memory device. For example, binary devices have two states, often denoted by a logic “1” or a logic “0.” In other systems, more than two states may be stored. To access the stored information, a component of the electronic device may read, or sense, the stored state in the memory device. To store information, a component of the electronic device may write, or program, the state in the memory device.
Various types of memory devices exist, including magnetic hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), magnetic RAM (MRAM), resistive RAM (RRAM), flash memory, phase change memory (PCM), and others. Memory devices may be volatile or non-volatile. Non-volatile memory, e.g., FeRAM, may maintain their stored logic state for extended periods of time even in the absence of an external power source. Volatile memory devices, e.g., DRAM, may lose their stored state over time unless they are periodically refreshed by an external power source. FeRAM may use similar device architectures as volatile memory but may have non-volatile properties due to the use of a ferroelectric capacitor as a storage device. FeRAM devices may thus have improved performance compared to other non-volatile and volatile memory devices.
Improving memory devices, generally, may include increasing memory cell density, increasing read/write speeds, increasing reliability, increasing data retention, reducing power consumption, or reducing manufacturing costs, among other metrics. Some types of memory devices may use variations in resistance or voltage drop across a cell to program and sense different logic states. The manner in which a cell is fabricated may affect the distribution of various materials that compose the cell. Small variations in threshold voltages between different logic states may therefore affect the accuracy with which cells may be read.